Friendship Is Like Glass
by Ron4
Summary: One drunken night, Ryan and Seth get into a fight and stop talking to one another. It's up to the girls to get the two best friends to be friends again. PG13 for language and alcohol.
1. The Fight

**Friendship Is Like Glass**  
_Chapter One: The Fight_

"Do you want a chaser?"

Seth shook his head in reply to Marissa's question, holding back from revealing his after-shot face. He set the shot glass down on the coffee table with a tiny _clink_. "I really don't like Jack Daniels."

"I was never really a big fan of J.D. either, but it's not so bad anymore," Marissa replied, taking a shot and chasing it with her Diet Coke.

The kids of Newport Beach didn't usually do shots. When they did happen to stray from their usual beer and drink hard liquor, they typically preferred mixed drinks to shots. But tonight, by request of Marissa, she, Seth, and Ryan were all currently buzzed on whiskey in Ryan's pool house.

Marissa poured the Jack in three glasses and handed one to each of the guys. "Cheers," she said, and the three clinked their glasses together and took their shots.

- - -

Ryan and Seth were sloppy-drunk. And Ryan was beginning to act belligerent. Marissa, who had cut herself off unusually early, had never seen Ryan act this way.

"Honestly Seth, remember when you had that thing going with Summer and Anna at the same time? How did you let that happen?" Ryan laughed. Ryan grabbed for the new Jack Daniels bottle, but Marissa stopped him.

"Ryan, honey, I think you've had enough," she told him. Ryan was normally a careful drinker, and a calm one. Marissa would never have guessed that he could act in such a way while drunk. "How many shots have you had?"

"I don't know. Allllot. A lot," he said with another laugh, but gave up trying to attain the alcohol. He turned back to Seth, who was looking a little sick on the sofa. "But Seth, as I was saying – what were you thinking, man? I'll admit it was pretty tight that you were getting lucky with two girls—" (a look from Marissa made Ryan change his tone) "—err, I mean pretty stupid, but Seth, really, you knew it was gonna happen."

"Can we not talk about it?" Seth asked.

"Why not? We never talk about it," Ryan slurred. "You act like you want me to help, but you never let me in."

"For one thing, I don't want to talk about it in front of Marissa, and for another, you're drunk right now and you're being an ass about it," Seth shot back.

"You're drunk, too," Ryan argued stupidly.

"I didn't say that I wasn't."

"Maybe I should go," Marissa said, slightly nervously. She stood up to leave.

"No!" Seth and Ryan said at the same time, but neither was looking at her. They were looking straight at each other, Ryan more focused now and Seth feeling a lot less sick. Marissa, uncomfortable from the tension in the room and not wanting to make the situation worse, sat down.

"Why don't we talk about you and Marissa and Theresa, Ryan? We _never _talk about your problems, do we? Don't you trust me enough to talk about them? Am I not a good enough friend?" Seth rebutted.

"My problems are different than your problems, Seth," Ryan said, dragging out the _S_ in Seth's name. "You wouldn't understand."

"What do you mean I wouldn't understand? We're virt- virtu- virt... we're almost in the same boat."

"No, we're not. I've been through more shit than you can even imagine. There's no way you can relate," Ryan said, standing up.

"That's no _fucking_ excuse. I want to help you. I want you to be able to talk to me. That's what I'm here for." Seth said this in an angry tone, and joined Ryan on his feet.

"You guys—" Marissa began, but Ryan snapped at her.

"Stay out of this." He turned away from an obviously hurt Marissa and stepped closer to Seth. "My problems aren't yours to deal with. So don't worry about it." With that, he gave Seth a light shove. That's all it took to set Seth off. Out of nowhere, Seth raised his right hand in a fist and connected it to Ryan's face.

Marissa jumped up. "Stop it!" She almost ran to the house to get Sandy and Kirsten to break the boys up, but she remembered that the two had gone out and that's why the three teens were safely drinking in the pool house.

Both boys ignored Marissa's plea, and Ryan mimicked Seth's punch and almost knocked the taller boy over. They continued tussling and throwing punches, some missing severely, some hitting right on.

Nobody expected it when Ryan's last punch set Seth stumbling into one of the solid glass doors at just the right angle to send him completely through it, glass shattering as Seth fell backwards into the outdoors.

Marissa screamed.

_to be continued..._


	2. The Disowning

**Friendship Is Like Glass**  
_Chapter Two: The Disowning_

"Oh, my God, oh, my God!" Marissa screamed, rushing outside and over to where Seth was lying, sprawled out on the now reddening grass. His eyes were closed, but a low groan was escaping his half-opened lips. She squatted down next to him. "Seth? Seth, are you okay?" He responded with the same groan, though a little louder, and Marissa stood up. "I'm calling 911."

"No!" Seth managed, pulling himself up. "I'm fine." He put his hand to the back of his head. When he brought his hand back to his face, his fingers were grazed with blood.

"Seth, you're bleeding! There's so much...." Marissa gasped. "I can't just not call the cops."

"Head injuries always bleed a lot," Ryan said, his silhouette appearing in the frame where the glass door had once been. "He'll be fine." Marissa watched as he slyly brought a cigarette to his lips, lighting it with a quick strike of a match.

She ignored the fact that Ryan had supposedly quit, and snapped at him. "You just knocked him through a glass door and you're just going to sit there and watch? He could be seriously injured and you don't even care."

"He started it," Ryan shrugged, blowing a long stream of smoke from the corner of his mouth. He took another drag and stepped forward onto the grass.

"You started it, and you know it," Marissa growled, pushing past him and back into the pool house. She found a first-aid kit in the bathroom and rushed to rejoin Seth. When she arrived, Ryan was gone. Frustrated at Ryan but scared for Seth, she hurried towards the latter and opened the lemon yellow box.

She found a roll of gauze and some disinfectant spray and set them on the grass next to her. Removing a miniature flashlight from the kit, she inspected the back of Seth's head to make sure no glass was embedded into the injured flesh. Satisfied, she carefully wrapped the gauze around and fastened it firmly in place with some medical tape.

---

The next day, Ryan finally came back. Marissa, who had spent the night to make sure that Seth didn't fall asleep (for fear of a concussion) until a few hours later, was the first person out to talk to him. "Where did you go?"

"Out. Does it matter?" Ryan answered shortly. He was lying on his bed with his eyes closed, from tiredness, disinterest, or both. "Why are you talking to me, anyways? I thought you were pissed off at me."

"I'm not pissed off at you," she said softly, sitting at the foot of his bed.

"That's not what you seemed like last night."

"I wasn't pissed, I was just... I don't know; I was scared. You were both at fault. It was the alcohol talking," Marissa confirmed. She looked at him, and his eyes were now open, intently focused on her.

"No, it was Seth talking. He wouldn't have said anything if he hadn't already felt that way."

"You said some stuff, too."

"See, I knew you were taking his side," Ryan mumbled, turning away from her. He tried to close his eyes again, but she suddenly started to yell at him.

"I'm not taking any sides! Like I said, you were both to blame. You shouldn't have said anything, and neither should he. You guys shouldn't have started to fight, and none of this would have happened! God, Ryan, just think!" With that, she stormed out of the pool house and back up to the main residence.

Ryan just lay there, thinking.

---

Inside, Marissa headed for the kitchen. She had promised Seth that she'd bring him up a bowl of cereal after she talked to Ryan. She found the bowls in a cabinet and pulled one down, setting it on the counter. She gathered the spoon and Cap'n Crunch as well, and moved to the fridge to get the milk. There, fastened on by a magnet, was a note from Sandy and Kirsten.  
_  
Boys,  
We stopped in for a second, but neither of you were around downstairs. Figured you were sleeping and didn't want to disturb you. We both had work early and we won't be back until late. See you then,  
Mom and Dad_

Marissa stopped cold. She had forgotten about Seth's parents. Obviously they hadn't been outside to see the glass-covered lawn or gone into Seth's bedroom to see Marissa asleep on the floor. Worried, she made the cereal and brought it upstairs.

---

"Thanks again," Marissa waved as the Newport Glass Repair truck pulled away. She breathed a sigh of relief at the new pane. It had taken her forever to convince the repair people that it was urgent and she was willing to throw in a large tip if they did their work right away.

"Where'd you get the money for this?" Ryan asked, sauntering up from behind her. When Marissa had come back to discuss the door situation after bringing Seth his breakfast, Ryan had once again disappeared. Now, nearly five hours later, he was back.

Marissa turned around. "My mom gave me a new credit card. Another of her schemes to get me to talk to her. Didn't work for that, but at least it came in handy for something."

"Ah," Ryan said simply. "I'll repay you as soon as I can get the money."

"Don't worry about it."

"So, where's what's-his-name?" Ryan asked, inspecting the new glass. She didn't answer right away, so he looked up at her.

"Stop being like this," Marissa said finally. "Just go talk to him. You can't do this to each other. You need to work it out. You guys are best friends."

"_Were _best friends," Ryan corrected, and went inside.

_to be continued..._


	3. The Partnership

** Friendship Is Like Glass**   
_Chapter Three: The Partnership_

For the entire following week, neither Sandy nor Kirsten seemed to notice anything – they didn't notice that one sheet of glass in the pool house looked brand new, they didn't notice that Seth was wearing a beanie on his head everywhere he went, they didn't notice that neither Seth nor Ryan was answering any phone calls from Marissa or Summer – no, they didn't notice any of that; they just noticed that neither one of the teen boys had said a word to each other for all of seven days.

That is, until that Friday morning.

"Seth, breakfast! School starts in half an hour!" Kirsten called up the stairs. Breakfast, of course, consisted of a broad selection of different cereals. Kirsten padded over to the door and called a similar beckoning to Ryan.

Both boys entered the kitchen at the same time. Their eyes met, but they quickly broke their gaze. Noticing this, Kirsten bit her lip, wanting so badly to interfere. Both she and Sandy had been noticing their unusual behavior, but her husband had told her it was best to let them work it out on their own; whatever problem they were having was their own issue and neither adult would help them whatsoever.

"Mom, do you think that I could get a car of my own?" Seth asked as he poured himself a bowl of cereal.

Sandy, entering the room, answered for her. "If you get a job to be able to afford one."

Kirsten stepped in. "Why do you want a car?"

"So I can drive myself to school. I'm a senior now, mom. Can't be having my mother bring me to school every day." Before Kirsten could say anything else, he threw in, "And don't even suggest taking the bus."

"Actually, I was going to suggest getting a ride from a friend," his mother stated, pouring herself a mug of coffee. She looked at him.

"Before I can get a ride from a friend, I need a friend," Seth said, half joking, half serious.

"Why not get a ride from Marissa or Summer?" Sandy suggested, imitating his wife by getting his own coffee. He took a sip. "They wouldn't mind, would they?"

Seth rolled his eyes. Parents. Didn't they pick up on anything? "If you haven't noticed, I haven't really been socializing with either of those lovely young ladies as of late. No, nothing's wrong, so don't ask."

"Maybe you and Ryan could pitch in on a car together, then," Kirsten threw in. She knew that Sandy was giving her one of his looks, but she didn't even acknowledge it. So she had intervened a little bit. It was cunning enough. At least she wasn't doing it directly.

"Ryan who?" Seth asked, pretending to be confused.

"Jackass," Ryan muttered under his breath, not even looking up from his bowl.

"Fuck you," Seth spat back, just loud enough for his parents to hear.

"Watch your mouth!" Kirsten said, appalled. This was just ridiculous. Whatever the two of them were mad at each other about, they were going to get over it. She didn't care what Sandy thought about it. "Until you two work out whatever you're fighting about, you're grounded."

"You can't ground me for that," Seth said, holding in his frustration. He had almost said "us," but caught himself in time to change it to "me". "That's just stupid. Plus, there's nothing to work out."

"Don't tell me what I can or can't do. You're grounded, and that's final. I don't want to hear another word about it. Now, finish eating and I'll take you both to school," she said huffily, and turned to Sandy. Surprisingly, he looked impressed.

"Bravo," he whispered to her, and with a quick kiss, he left the room.

---

Kirsten dropped them off at Harbor School, neither boy saying a word to the other. It was actually kind of a relief to hear Seth so quiet, but at the same time, she almost missed his incessant babbling. Not to mention that she didn't like seeing her boys mad at each other. She just wished she knew what was going on.

When they exited the Range Rover, Seth and Ryan took off in opposite directions. Even though they shared their first class, they were taking different routes to get there. Ryan had only gotten so far when Summer hurried up to him. "So Chino, what's up?" she asked casually.

"I'm not going to talk to Seth," he said robotically, not bothering to let her get to that point. She had already been ragging on both of them to fix the problem, as had Marissa, but neither were willing to oblige.

"Come _on_, Ryan. It's weird never seeing you guys at the same time. You guys are like best friends. That would be like me and Coop not talking. It's almost impossible to imagine. It's just so weird."

"When Seth is willing to apologize, I'm ready to talk to him," Ryan said, actually glancing at the snarky firecracker next to him. "I may have been the one who started it, and I know I was the one to finish it, but he just took it too far."

Summer stopped walking. "It's two-sided. Neither one of you is more at fault than the other. But one of you just needs to stand up and be a man and apologize first. Do you want that to be Cohen? Do you want him to out-man you?"

Ryan didn't stop. "Out-man me? If you say so, Summer."

---

Meanwhile, Marissa was in a similar situation with Seth. "Please?"

"No," Seth said, obviously bored with the conversation. "It's not gonna happen. Look what he did to me. I've been wearing this stupid hat for a week straight." He pointed at his beanie without much enthusiasm. "It just sucks, being pushed around for your whole life and then having your supposed best friend do the same thing."

"He didn't mean to hurt you, Seth. You guys were drunk. It was an accident," Marissa told him.

"Drunkenness is not an excuse," Seth said, almost as if he was reading it straight from some anti-alcohol pamphlet. He waved a half-hearted goodbye and finished his trek to class.

---

Ryan and Seth entered the classroom at almost the same exact time. Both boys were still standing when the teacher decided to make an example of them. "Ah, Misters Cohen and Atwood. Since you've decided to slack off and arrive to class late, you two may slack off together for your senior group research project."

_to be continued..._


End file.
